hand-glass
1. A magnifying-glass held in the hand to help the eyesight.
| 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) III. 153 Thirty-two either wore spectacles or used hand-glasses. 1837 Marryat Dog-fiend xxviii, He..pulled a pair of hand-glasses out of his pocket..and..commenced reading. |
2. Hort. A portable glass shade used for protecting or forcing a plant.
| 1788 G. White Selborne lxv. 304 The hail broke..all my garden-lights and hand-glasses. 1824 Loudon Encycl. Gardening (ed. 2) 287 The wrought-iron hand-glass is composed of solid iron sash-bars, and may therefore be formed of any shape or height. 1828 in Webster. 1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 40/1 A hand-glass..keeps the temperature in which the plant breathes higher than the external air. 1851 Glenny Handbk. Fl. Gard. 25 The perennials may be raised from cuttings, under a common hand-glass. |
3. A small mirror with a handle.
| 1882 Besant Revolt of Man iv. (1883) 94 She took up a hand-glass, and intently examined her own face. |
4. Naut. A half-minute or quarter-minute sand-glass used for measuring the time in running out the log-line.
| 1875 in Knight Dict. Mech. |